Do I Have A Podcast?!? Of Course I Have A Podcast!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Although I visit the gym as often as my schedule allows, I'm not by any means a "lunk". I'm simply a 40 year old man trying to stave off Father Time (and to a lesser degree, genetics) and live as fruitful and healthy a life as reasonable possible. I've got plenty of gripes with my gym, which have been discussedat lengthherealready. But one thing I think we can all agree on is that certain people there really annoy you. And for such annoyances, a thing called "earbuds" was invented. Let the chuuuuch say amen.

That said, some people like their gym experience to be d-bag free, which has lead to the growth of such franchises as Curves (for plus-sized women) and Planet Fitness, for people who simply find the real gym too intimidating. Both business are thriving, and both do so by essentially legally discriminating against certain types of unsavory customers. Planet Fitness' entire appeal is based on it being a gym that's not really a gym. And that policy seems to have recently backfired spectacularly.

A Bay Area woman was asked to cover up while working out at a Richmond gym, after staff members say she was intimidating people with her toned body.

Tiffany Austin said she was excited to get back in shape after recovering from a recent car accident. After her doctor told her it was time to start walking more, she took a tour of the Planet Fitness Gym in Richmond. On Monday she officially joined the gym and was looking forward to her first workout – but that workout lasted a quick 15 minutes.

Austin said things started out well. She hopped on a treadmill, set the speed to slow, put her earbuds in and started walking. She started to notice others staring at her, and quickly grew self-conscious but she kept on walking. That is until a staff-member stopped her.

According to Austin that staff member said, "excuse me we've had some complaints you're intimidating people with your toned body. So can you put on a shirt?”

Austin was wearing a tank that showed her stomach and capri-pants and says she didn't see anything wrong with the outfit. She says she was only told not to wear a string tank because of the dress code policy at the gym.

She agreed to wear the shirt, but while the first staff member went to get it she says she was approached by another staff member who also took issue with her body. Austin says at that point she had enough; she asked for a manager - asked for her money back and left.

Planet Fitness boasts 5 million members and a policy that bans what they call “gymtimidation.” Its website says members can get in shape without being, "subjected to the hardcore look-at-me-attitude that exists in too many gyms."

The franchise goes even further and has a “lunk alarm” in every gym which sends off a siren if someone drops a weight or breathes too hard or shows any behavior that staff members consider "lunk-like".

Look, I get it. Some people didn't like seeing this seemingly fit woman walk around in clothes that revealed her assets, and blew the whistle on her. The attire was supposedly banned in the contract the lady signed, and she felt disrespected because she was asked to cover up and asked for a refund.

She isn't suing, she has moved on. Some have suggested the woman was a target of racial discrimination, but knowing a little bit about Richmond, CA (former home of Master P), I'm betting the women who called foul on her were also black. You'll note that the woman herself didn't mention race at all. So kill that noise.

Still, I can't help but wonder what sort of message this sends. Planet Fitness' own commercials make fun of "lunks", but also feature women who are attired just like the lady above (see background at 22 second mark). Are we as a society so weakminded that we can't even manage to do something to improve ourselves in the presense of others who have already improved themselves? Whatever happened to putting on earbuds and looking straight ahead? How hard is that?

I have a boatload of complaints with my gym (most of which center around the waaay too small locker room) but I can live with them. I'll ride that out before I give a dollar to Planet Fitness.

Unless, of course, they've got larger locker rooms.

Question: Does this story make any sense to you? Should Planet Fitness be allowed to legally discriminate against certain types of customers? Where do you work out?

Like many of you, I spent an unhealthy amount of time parked in front of the TV/tablet the past week watching NCAA Basketball. A uniquely American institution, the games highlight the athleticism, love of the game, and dedication of hundreds of "student athletes", superimposed against the seedy underbelly of betting a wagering. Yes, they're "amateurs", but a lot of people are making money off them. Which is why I found this recent poll somewhat interesting.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a large majority of the general public opposes paying salaries to college athletes beyond the scholarships currently offered.

Only 33 percent support paying college athletes. At 64 percent, opposition is nearly twice as high as support, with 47 percent strongly against the idea. Nearly every demographic and political group opposes it except non-whites, for whom 51 percent support. The breakdown among whites (73 percent oppose, 24 percent support) tilted strongly in the opposite direction, echoing the perspective of NCAA President Mark Emmert.

Only 19 percent indicated they strongly support paying salaries to college athletes. No demographic or political group, except for non-whites, had more than 25 percent expressing strong support for the idea . Though some groups were more supportive overall than others, most rejected the proposition. Just 40 percent of men, for instance, are in favor vs. 27 percent for women. Among self-professed fans of college sports, 37 percent support paying player compared with 27 percent of non-fans.

The public, however, was split evenly when asked about the proposition of allowing college athletes to form a union to negotiate their rights and working conditions, with 47 percent supporting and 47 percent opposing.

The racial contrast was more pronounced on the issue of unions, with 66 percent of non-whites supporting the idea but 56 percent of whites opposing it. Nearly two-thirds of respondents under the age of 40 were in favor, but 57 percent of individuals over age 50 were against.

I'm not going to unwrap the racial disparity in views on this topic. I'll let ya'll have at that. My sentiment is as it has always been: pay the damn kids!

The NCAA has a 14-year, $11 billion agreement with CBS and Turner Sports for the TV rights to a 68-team tournament. The NCAA sells billions in merchandise bearing the number and likeness of these athletes each year. In many states, the football/basketball coach is the highest paid public employee. NCAA President Mark Emmert was credited with nearly $1.7M in salary last year. Name me any other walk of life in which the talent gets paid zero, while the people in charge literally make billions. Go ahead, I'll wait....

I think student athletes in revenue generating sports (men's BB and FB) should share in any annual profits those programs generate. Open the books, and do some basic math. Give the athletes some small, fixed percentage at the end of each year of eligibility that the program turns a profit and put it in an interest bearing account. If you don't play a sport that generates money (ie: baseball, track, which FB and BB actually fund at most schools) and you get nothing. You drop out of school, transfer out, fail out, turn pro, or fail to graduate within 5 years and you get nothing.[1]

Also, allow the student athletes to get summer jobs and/or take internships in their field of study to properly prepare for post-graduate life. They are prohibited from doing so right now, which just illuminates how silly the "student athlete" moniker really is. If you're a computer science major and graduate with no relevant work experience, your degree isn't worth the paper it's printed on in today's hyper-competitive workforce. By design, the NCAA says you can't both play basketball and prepare for your future. How is that fair?

Graduate on time and you get whatever vested amount your program has set aside for you in a 401K upon receiving your diploma. At schools that make money (ie: Florida), a football player can walk away and begin their post-graduate life with maybe $15-$20k. At schools that make nothing (ie: McNeese State) the kids get nothing. It's a fair, a free market approach that rewards those who contribute to the bottom line of universities and the NCAA, cuts down on corruption, and rewards both the school and the athletes for their shared success (or lack thereof).

So next time you're cheering for these "kids", remember they're really getting nothing in return for their efforts. Blow out a knee like Kevin Ware and not only could you lose your eligbility, but you could also be on the hook for your own medical bills (something that happens far often than most people know). Have an off year and you could be dropped from your scholarship altogether (ditto). How on Earth is that "fair"?

March is "Mad" in more ways than stunning upsets.[2]

Question: Should the kids be paid? What's with the racial breakdown in those who support paying athletes and those who don't?!?

[1] Yeah, I know, I've written this post at least once every year that this blog has been in existence. I'll stop writing it when the problem as addressed. So there.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

"Youth is wasted on the young". It's an adage that's typically blabbed by over the hill guys like me, but it's not without validity. When you're young, you have outlandishly idealistic ideas about how the world should operate, and scant experience in how it actually does. The "hope" hasn't been drained from you yet, which is in fact a lovely thing. Because seriously, no 20 year old should already feel that all things aren't possible. It's pretty sad to see people who've already quit being optimistic at an age when the world should be your proverbial oyster.

Which is why I can't watch this video and do anything other than laugh.

Well isn't that cute? Little Carey Wedler is disappointed that a politician actually turned out to be a politician, and not some Magical Negro who would live up to her every hope and dream. Pour out a lil' of your $7 latte and bemoan the day when this poor girl realized there was no Santa Claus.

Much like Knicks fans salivating over today's arrival of Phil Jackson[1], someone should have sat Ms. Wedler down in 2007 and explained the harsh reality of headed her way. But that would have been cruel. She had to learn the hard way, I suppose.

Question: What did you think of this young lady's self-serving public denouncement of her support for Obama? Did the GOP just gain a new voter or did this girl finally realize there's no Tooth Fairy?

[1] Trust me Knicks fans, this will get waaaay uglier before it gets prettier. It has to if it's going to actually work. And given the scores of other "saviors" that arrived at MSG and left without guiding the franchise to the promised land, I'm thinking this ends badly. No disrespect to Phil Jackson, of course, but still...

Monday, March 17, 2014

My daughter turns two in a couple of months. She looks and sounds every bit of 3 already. She speaks in full, intelligible sentences, is over the 100th percentile in height and weight, and already has perfected the art of selective listening. She's also cute as a button. So yes, I have sleepless nights wondering what this is all going to look like in about 11-12 years. Namely, how I'm going to juggle the typical father/tweenage daughter dynamic.[1] You still have to maintain some level of authority while allowing a girl to find herself. Push too hard and it's revolt city. Be too passive and she'll walk right over you. It's a precarious balance that some fathers ace, and others don't even bother to navigate.

So when this video, courtesy of The Uppity Negro landed on my radar, I had to post it. And yeah, I already know. I'm scouring World Star Hip Hop for post fodder. It's that sorta day. Deal with it. Or Beal With It™. The video description says "Bad parenting or is this type of discipline acceptable now a days? Father disciplines his 13-year-old daughter after missing for 3 days messing around with boys & then posts all on facebook." and that's about all the context I have here.

Warning: This video contains some very offensive imagery and isn't for the weak at heart.

Well let's get one thing right out of the way: if you're going to publicly flog whip your child, you might want to check to make sure nobody has their iPhone out before you start whipping your child's ass in the Piney Courts Projects parking lot. So yeah, this guy is prolly going to jail for assault. Dumbass.

Beyond that, it's clear this sperm donor.... errr, "father" has no authority or control over his daughter. And while it's certainly understandable that he's upset (clearly!) there were probably 1,928 other ways to process and relay his disappointment. And he chose the absolute worst option possible. Great judgement, buddy. Pull out next time.

I won't add much more here, other than to say this man is wrong assed wrong, and that his daughter is prolly gonna be missing for a week "messing around with boys" next time, and might have a bun in the over upon return. Seriously, if you were that concerned, why didn't you call the cops and get them to issue an Aisha Amber alert? You know, like sensible concerned fathers do?

Instead, this ass hat is headed to jail and his daughter is one step closer to the pole. #message

Nice work, breh.

Bonus: Since I'm already scraping the bottom on the internet barrel for material today, he's another example of Atrocious Black Parenting™ that I meant to post awhile back. This one's rather self-explanatory.[2]

Question: Add your two cents to this senseless story.

[1] Other than owning a firearm to ward of... err "vet" potential suitors.

[2] Is it just me, or do SOME Black people not understand the concept of putting your phone in "landscape" mode instead of "portrait"? Just sayin'.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Back in the Vice City days, I used to love playing Grand Theft Auto for hours on end. Of course, I had one child then. I now have three. You can probably surmise that my GTA days are long since over, given the massive amount of homework I've got to check, youth sports I have to chauffer kids to, and of course, there's always gangsta children's television to monitor. So in short, I haven't played GTA in ages.

Watching this video though, it's like the real life thing, albeit with the main character as a Colorado methhead on the run from the law. And snow. But mostly the meth.

A wanted maniac led police on a wild, high-speed chase through Colorado on Wednesday after he stole a car from a gas station and then managed to carjack two other drivers during the pursuit.

The alleged thief, Ryan Stone, was arrested at around 8 a.m. after he crashed at intersection outside Denver and tried to escape police by fleeing through the snow on foot, local news footage showed. A Colorado State Trooper was injured in the chase and was taken to a Littleton hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, local ABC News reported. One source told the station the trooper suffered a broken leg.

Authorities said the pursuit began at around 6 a.m. when Stone, 28, swiped a maroon Ford Edge SUV with a 4-year-old child in it from a Bradley's gas station in Longmont. The child's mother had left the car idling while she went inside to pay for gas, authorities said.

Stone, who cops said was wanted on drug charges (editor's note: no sh*t), jumped inside and sped off, heading south on I-25. As police and news helicopters tailed the vehicle, the driver tore through rush hour traffic, veering onto the shoulders to pass other cars.

After exiting the highway, he eventually ended up on I-76, where he headed off a tan minivan travelling on an exit ramp. Stone, who was dressed in a gold and black jacket, leaped out of the Ford and pulled the driver and another person out of the van, harrowing news footage showed...

...About a mile later, he flew into an intersection near Peoria St. and Lincoln Ave., about 20 miles south of downtown Denver, and slammed into another car, crippling his getaway car.

He fled on foot through the snow and tried to hop a chain link fence, but couldn't get over.

As officers closed in, he lay on his stomach and was quickly pinned down and cuffed. Police said he did not have a weapon on him. Longmont police spokesman Commander Jeffrey Satur told the Associated Press that Stone was wanted on a "dangerous drug" charge after he didn't show up to a court hearing March 4.

Stone was with his girlfriend when she was stopped in an apparently stolen car in Longmont Tuesday night, Satur said. It's not clear why he wasn't arrested then.

Stone was "definitely running like a person who did not want to go back to jail," Satur said. It wasn't yet clear if the driver in the last collision was injured.

The Denver Post reported Stone had a long rap sheet dating back to 2003, including busts for assault, drugs, weapons possession and child abuse.

Put some of your favorite trap music on in the background, make this video fullscreen, and enjoy the pure, unbridled ignorance of Mr. Ryan Stone as he indulges in some very hoodrat behavior. Don't worry, nobody was seriously injured here, so go ahead and partake without guilt.

Holy crap, was that something or was that something?!? This guy is lucky he didn't kill himself, and he's very lucky the cops didn't shoot his dumb ass once he finally got out the car. You know, like in real GTA.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Aside from the obvious perils (ie: permanent brain/body damage), playing a professional sport has to be the dream job of 90% of American Men. Think about it: you get paid exhorbitant sums of money to play a children's sport for a few hours a day. There's the fame, the adulation, and of course the chicks. What person in his right mind wouldn't ride this gravy train until its (or your) proverbial wheels fall off?

Well, meet Rashard Mendenhall, an NFL running back who for a variety of reasons, is walking away from the game at the ripe age of 26.

Former Arizona Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall was tired of living a "private life in the public eye" as an NFL player, which included being the target of racial slurs online, he wrote in his most recent blog for Huffington Post, in which he explained why he retired at 26 years old.

Mendenhall wrote that he wasn't going to hold a news conference or announce his retirement, but after telling those close to him, there was a sense of surprise. That led to his explanation.

Reports began to surface Saturday that Mendenhall, who would've been an unrestricted free agent come Tuesday afternoon, was planning on retiring.

"I just kind of wanted to disappear," Mendenhall wrote. "The fact that I was done playing would've been clear once some time had passed and I hadn't signed back with the Cardinals or any other team. Maybe people would've thought I couldn't get another job. Either way, I was OK with the idea of fading to black, and my legacy becoming, 'Whatever happened to that dude Rashard Mendenhall? He was pretty good for a few years, then he just vanished.'"

Mendenhall played six years in the NFL, five with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that drafted him, and with the Cardinals in 2013. The University of Illinois product has 4,236 yards on 1,081 carries (3.91 yards per carry) and 37 touchdowns as a pro. He'd signed a one-year contract with Arizona for $2.5 million, including a $500,000 signing bonus.

But it wasn't football that drove Mendenhall away. He says his passion for the game was still alive and well, but his retirement was due to a combination of things -- having his life dissected under a microscope, wanting to live the rest of his life without the potential physical limitations that come with years of playing, and his dislike with how the game has shifted more toward entertainment and away from fundamentals.

"Imagine having a job where you're always on duty, and can never fully relax or you just may drown," he wrote. "Having to fight through waves and currents of praise and criticism, but mostly hate. I can't even count how many times I've been called a 'dumb n-----.'"

Many have ripped Mendenhall for his decision, including a particularly petty Forbes columnist who surmises that Mendenhall is a "poor role model for millenials". I'm gonna pause her for a moment while you go ready that stupid bullsh*t.

[Sidebar: Is that woman out her rabbit a$$ mind? You can't possibly compare the very dangerous, very shortlived career of an NFL running back with any other profession. Juxtaposing Mendenhall, a guy whose career has a shelf life of 6-7 years tops, with entitled twentysomethings working for Google isn't even apples and oranges. It's apples and episodes of Banshee.[1] Two things that have no relation to each other whatsoever. I hope Forbes paid her with loose change for that nonsense.]

Others have asserted that Mendenhall never played that hard, lacked the passion to succeed in the NFL, and was likely headed towards a minimum salary backup role anyway. I think these are valid arguements, but the miss the overall point, and reveal another one that's bubbling just beneath the surface.

Namely, this guy is retiring, with a sh*tload of money in the bank, at the 1/3 point in his life. And everyone else isn't. And thus, a lot of people can't admit it, but they're envious of this guy.

I'll admit it. I am envious of this guy. Very envious.

I love my job, a lot actually. I work with cool people, go nice places and do fulfilling stuff. I cannot complain. But I will probably spend the next 20 or so years of my life (gleefully) collecting a paycheck from someone else out of sheer necessity, just like 99% of the rest of the world. While I love what I do, I could think of 829,292,133 other things I'd rather do with my day if money was no option. And with money not being an option (Mendenhall made over $15M in NFL salary and reportedly lives modestly), Mendenhall is moving on to find those 829,292,133 other things for himself.

We should all be envious. And we should all congratulate this guy for getting out the game on his own terms, with his knees, back, hips, shoulders, and brain still in tact.

Good for you, Rashard Mendenhall. Good for you.

Question: If you could walk away from your job today and live off a modest income for the rest of your life, what would you do?

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

I'm no conspiracy theorist, as those of you who follow this site already know. I try to deal with known entities, my Tin Foil Hat is somewhere in the garage. But the more I hear about this flight that just disappeared somewhere over the water, the more I wonder what's really up.

The mystery involving Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 deepened more than three days after it dropped off the radar, as officials widened the massive search even further and signaled that fears of terrorism were probably off the mark

As the sun set here on the fourth day since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished, the case of the ill-fated jetliner was as muddied as Kuala Lumpur’s skies, steeped in a dense haze that seasonally blankets the Malaysian capital.

We’ve made no progress, we don’t have a clue,” Izhar Bahari, air traffic controller at Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation, tells TIME. He went on to deny an earlier report that the search has now shifted focus to the Strait of Malacca. “We focus our search both on the east and the west coast, and we will expand the areas for tomorrow.”

Authorities said Tuesday that despite suspicions raised by the fact that two of the passengers held stolen passports, one was a 19-year-old Iranian asylum seeker with no terrorist ties. The revelation seemed to deflate fears that the disappearance was an act of terrorism.

“The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said, according to Reuters.

Scouring a radius of over 100 nautical miles, dozens of aircrafts and ships from 10 countries explored both the area where communications were lost with the Boeing 777, between Malaysia and Vietnam, and a swath to the southwest. Based on radar information suggesting that the Beijing-bound aircraft may have attempted to turn back to Kuala Lumpur, the search was increasingly focused off the coast of Malaysia.

Officials have pleaded to media and the public to refrain from spreading unverified information. But with 239 lives presumed lost, rumors abound. In lieu of hard evidence, journalists had latched on to the fact that two passengers traveled on stolen passports, but that lead seemed to lose weight on Tuesday, as one of the two men’s identities was revealed.

I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I'd put money on "electrical malfunction". But that's just me being lazy and rational.

Monday, March 10, 2014

I wish the destardly George Zimmerman was somewhere in an Ocala prison practicing soap-holding. But alas, the state of Florida's horrible prosecutors ensured this man would spend the rest of his life tormenting us, which lead to perhaps one of the most despicable public displays I've seen since Myrtle Beach Bike Week, this past Saturday.

Only a few handfuls of people showed up Saturday to meet a Florida gun show’s special guest of dishonor — George Zimmerman.

Over the course of six hours, fewer than 20 people at the New Orlando Gun Show asked for a free autograph or photo with Trayvon Martin’s reclusive killer, who was hanging out in a rear office of The Arms Room gun store in Orlando.

Zimmerman, who has complained of receiving a steady stream of death threats and is overwhelmed by debt since he killed unarmed teen Martin in 2012, said he was enjoying himself.

“Everything’s good. We’re having fun,” said the 30-year-old, who was signing pictures of himself with his dog. “I’m just here to meet supporters.”

He was joined at the event by his on-again-off-again gal pal Samantha Scheibe, who last year accused him of pointing a gun at her.

The meet-and-greet almost didn’t happen after the original venue for the gun show backed out because of the controversy surrounding Zimmerman, according to organizer Mike Piwowarski.

“Come on out and meet George Z! He’s here a few more hours. And no matter what you read, there are no protesters, lunatics or other varieties of a-- clowns,” the store posted on Facebook.

For those of you scoring at home, yes, this man received an appearance fee to sign autographs. His sole claim to fame is shooting a killing an unarmed black minor. But 20-some people found him enough of a hero to show up.

This ought to make you very nauseous.

Question: What sort of person shows up to get George Zimmerman's autograph?

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

No need to rehash my feelings on the word nigger here. If you've read the blog long enough, you already know my stance. If not, get familiar. For those of you too lazy to do the homework, I find the word ignorant, try (and on occasions fail) to not use it, and think white people shouldn't say it under any circumstances. There. If you need more context, consult the link above.

Anyways, with NFL, a league that seemingly has an image threatening issue going on all the time, is still smarting from the bad PR that resulted from the Richie Incognito/Johnathan Martin story last season. For those unaware, Incognito (who has since gone to the looney bin) threatened his then teammate with racial slurs (among other things) but says he did so because his other black teammates basically co-signed on the idea. I thought this was the worst kind of "well, they say it, so why can't I?" rationale for explaining away ones own shortcomings, but whatever. Reality is, the other black players in that lockeroom enabled Incognito, and they're every bit as much to blame as he is, at least for the racial epithets he peppered Martin with.

The NFL conducted an independent investigation that basically determined Incognito was a psychopath (how appropriate) that Martin maybe shoulda stuck up for himself sooner, and that the Dolphins lockeroom, as well as other NFL lockerooms, needed to be a bit less toxic. So how does the NFL fix said problems?

The NFL is throwing a flag on use of the N-word.

In a groundbreaking move, the league is expected to agree to start penalizing players 15 yards for uttering the racial slur on the field, according to the group that monitors diversity in the league.

John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said the rule will likely be adopted by the NFL competition committee at March’s owners meetings.

“I will be totally shocked if the competition committee does not uphold us on what we’re trying to do,” Wooten said, according to CBSSports.com. “We want this word to be policed from the parking lot to the equipment room to the locker room.

Wooten expects the NFL to push for an automatic 15-yard penalty for first-time offenders. A second offense would result in an ejection.

It’s hard to know how often the N-word is used on the field, but it was a prominent off-field issue for the league this season.

The use of the slur by NFL players was thrust into the spotlight in late July when a video surfaced showing Eagles receiver Riley Cooper yelling the epithet at a concert.

Just a few months later, it was part of the controversy in the Miami Dolphins locker room mess.

The N-word was part of a barrage of bullying texts Richie Incognito hurled at Jonathan Martin. In one, Incognito referred to Martin, who is biracial, as a “half-n-----.”

And then in November, an NFL game official was suspended for one game without pay after making “a profane and derogatory statement” to a Washington Redskins player during a game.

Left tackle Trent Williams later said that the N-word was not among the vulgar language uttered by umpire Roy Ellison.

But the incident prompted the Fritz Pollard Alliance to issue a statement imploring all NFL players to stop using the racial slur.

I think this has to be the most misguided attempt at political correctness I've ever heard of, and I'm generally a guy who believes in political correctness. But this is simply treating the symptom, not the disease. Black players say the N-word so liberally because they've been mislead into thinking it's a term of endearment. White players say the N-word, either because they're racist as hell (see Riley Cooper and the aforementioned Incognito) or because they've also been mislead into thinking it's a term of endearment by black players who have allowed them to say it without any repercussions. Penalizing a team when a player utters this in the heat of play isn't going to "fix" players.

How about educating them, all of them, on why the word is so ignorant, why it's hardly a term of endearment, and that it's just one of lots of words (f*ggot, r*tard, f*ckboi) they should eliminate from their vocabularies. And maybe they should ease up on all the pointless hazing and behave like grown assed men, instead of 9th graders. Not because it's best for the league's image (clearly the only thing that matters to the NFL) but because it's for their best as men.

This N-word penalty tho? Nonsense. This will not work. At all.

Roger Godell? N*gga Please.

Question: Is this N-word ban going to work? Are there better ways of going about this if you simply want a more wholesome team environment?

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Surefire first ballot Hall Of Famer Allen Iverson had his jersey retired by the Sixers last night, an event which overshadowed some record setting by my Wizards as they rolled on the home team. Iverson was in rare form as he gave an impassioned speech thanking the team's fans for years of support. He did it his way, as he always has, including wearing an ensemble from the 2 Chainz Winter 2013 collection. Eff' practive a suit, this is BubbaChuck we're talking about.

This ceremony, while touching, just made me feel bad for a lot of reasons. The team spends a bunch of money honoring Iverson, using the occasion to undoubtedly hawk a bunch of his jerseys and attain a rare sellout for a franchise that's got the NBA's worst record. They fawn over him, raise his jersey to the rafters, and give him a cheap fishing boat, which has to go down as perhaps the most odd retirement gift ever. I'm betting he'll be listing that boat at OLX Free Classifieds by Monday morning. I could go on about using Tina Turner music for the banner lifting, but whatever.

The saddest part of all of this is that it's likely to be the last great night of Iverson's life. His days post-basketball have been riddled with lawsuits, a contentious divorce, rumors of alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, and of course financial ruin. The man is flat assed broke, having squandered tens of millions in career earnings. Worst of all, his legacy as a player has taken a hit since he was essentially exiled from the league. Had he humbled himself, some playoff contender would have surely used him as an off the bench scorer. He saw that as beneath him, only expediting his one way ticket out of the league. His early season retirement and this ceremony likely mark the dead end of a great career that could have been an excellent one had the man simply learned to shut up and grow up. Neither of those happened, and emotional speeches aside, the man's life in in tatters.

He bought a lot of this on himself, but he also deserves better, whether he knows it or not.

The Sixers shouldn't give him a boat, they should give him a job.

Question: Did this jersey retirement ceremony irk you a bit? What do you think about The Answer?

Okay, I've seen this commercial a million times now and I still don't fully comprehend what's going on. The woman appears to be leaving a (her?) suburban home sometime late at night, dressed to the nines. She then inexplicably drives into downtown Los Angeles, which everyone knows is full of nothing but bums at 2am. Is she headed to The Standard rooftop? A Clippers game? To feed the homeless? What's she up to, and why does the moon appear to be stalking her?

Finally, so goes into the 2nd Street Tunnel, hits a roadblock, and needs the navigation system to get out. Huh? The ad ends with her driving on the 6th Street Bridge as the sun comes up. Where was she all that time? The Standard rooftop? LA Live? I don't get it, and I'm so confused.

Maybe she was leaving some dude's house, and this commercial is a walk, errr, drive of shame home. Who knows, and what's with the Bobby Caldwell music? If she's being stalked, isn't there a Police song more appropriate for this?